JP/ /NAJIB

JP/ /NAJIB

Indonesia Outlook 2006 (Religion)
Competition between Liberal and Conservative Group
to Change the Very Face of Islam in Indonesia

Ahmad Najib Burhani
Jakarta

The year 2005 saw numerous disputes between conservative
Muslims and liberal Muslims to change the face of Islam in
Indonesia. A number of incidents that occurred this year were a
manifestation of these disputes. To mention some incidents, there
was the ban on the Laskar Cinta (Love Army) logo created by the
Dhani Ahmad pop singing group; the trial of Yusman Roy, who
prayed in Indonesian and Arabic, and the attack on the Mubarok
campus -- belonging to the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation
(JAI) -- in Bogor in July by a swarm of brutes calling themselves
Indonesian Muslim Solidarity (GUII).

There are also controversies over 11 MUI (Indonesian Ulema
Council) edicts issued on July 29, and the attempt to oust
Liberal Islam Network (JIL) from the Utan Kayu complex in East
Jakarta shortly after the fatwa was made public.

The issues of liberal Islam, pluralism among religions and
tolerance of secular ideas seems to have greatly preoccupied the
minds of Muslim leaders, particularly those at MUI, and thereby
neglecting terrorism as the most pressing issue in this country.

There is a prevailing perception that liberal Islam,
secularism, and pluralism are far more dangerous than terrorism.
MUI has preoccupied itself more with issues like Ahmadiyah and
interfaith marriages, than suicide bombings, which actually have
a far more devastating impact society. They are more concerned
with ritualistic issues such as interfaith joint prayers and
female preachers instead of the immorality in society like
corruption, which has already become so deeply ingrained that it
is almost like a tradition in our society.

They have paid little attention to the trial/investigation of
former minister of religious affairs Said Agil Munawar, for his
alleged involvement in a haj budget irregularities. MUI seems to
be "delighted" by busying itself in "attacking" harmless groups
such as JIL and JIMM (Muhammadiyah Young Intellectual Network),
rather than decisively dealing with extremists. This shows the
failure of religious leaders in listing priorities of problems
within societies.

Bizarrely, the MUI seems to have just opened its eyes to these
realities after they were invited by Vice President Jusuf Kalla
to watch the shocking video tape of the Indonesian Muslim suicide
bombers. Previously, the clerics were reluctant to condemn their
Muslims brothers who were deviating from the true teaching of
Islam. It appeared that they were unwilling to call them the real
enemy of Islam, and that their deeds should be religiously
forbidden and cursed by society.

Many Muslims leaders understand all to well the evil nature of
terrorism, but they choose to be quiet in public, apparently
afraid of being criticized as a mainstream Muslim. They have
often shifted their moral duty to explain the truth to other
similarly reluctant clerics at the expense of an increasingly
misled society. "Not me, please," they say as they excuse
themselves from the responsibility. More bizarrely, MUI regards
liberal Islam as threatening as terrorism. This can be seen in
the banner in front of Istiqlal Mosque, which reads "beware of
liberalism and terrorism."

In dealing with this terrorism issue, even the antiterror
team, which was recently founded by the MUI and the ministry of
religious affairs, is full of ambiguities. Ma'ruf Amin as the one
who was appointed as the leader of this team is actually the
chairman of the fatwa (edict) council within the MUI. The fatwa
council is charged with enforcing and issuing the controversial
11 religious edicts. He has always been perceived as a fiqh-
oriented religious scholar with conservative characteristics.

Such conservative views are widespread within Indonesian
society. This is the reason why extremism in unstoppable in this
country. Moreover, radicalism seems to find a fertile ground in
the country's religiosity. Other social and economic matters
might have contributed to radicalism, however the potential for
conflict was already ingrained in the way the society sees
religion.

From childhood, Muslim children here are trained to see the
differences rather than the commonalities among people. Even my
four-year-old daughter often says the Westerners on TV are kafir
(infidels). When we were browsing around in a mall, my daughter
asked about the Chinese couple walking in front of us, "Daddy,
are they Muslims?" she whispered to my bewilderment. Such double-
standard perceptions seem to have been deeply embedded in the
psyche of Indonesian people: we go to heaven, they go to hell; we
are right, they are wrong; we are beloved by God, they are a
disgrace to God.

In addition to the antiterror team's problem of ambiguity, the
way this team tackles terrorism issues is also problematic.
Ma'ruf Amin, the chairman of the team, and many other religious
leaders seem to try to portray terrorism as the antithesis of
Islam; much the same way as the New Order portrayed communism as
the antithesis of Islam. Therefore, according to their views,
terrorism must have no relation at all with Islam.

Such phenomena of the severe competition between conservatives
and liberals has instead resulted in antipathy from other members
of society towards these two competing groups. The majority now
seems to have found a comfortable religiosity in the figures of
Aa Gym (KH Abdullah Gymnastiar), Jefry al-Bukhary, Agus Haryono,
Arifin Ilham, etc.

This is because the religiosity of this Muslim majority
follows market mechanisms. For them, religiosity in the way they
practice their religion, is a matter of "rational choice." For
them, religiosity is like a commodity in a market where they have
freedom to choose something that could really satisfy their needs
-- much like the law of demand and supply in the economy. This
demand for peaceful religiosity, in fact, cannot be found in
those two competing groups.

Such peaceful religiosity is instead found in packaging models
or "advertising celebrities" like Jefry al-Bukhary and others
whose characters splash out on us from television. They are also
crazy about religion that can miraculously heal diseases, relax
emotions and expand their fortunes, as offered by the likes of
Arifin Ilham and Ustadz Haryono.

The religious rituals might end up functioning merely as
theatrical show, which would only be able to provide temporary
happiness, far from deep happiness as genuinely promised by
religion. At the same time, the liberals would increasingly
believe that religion is a troublemaker. While the conservatives
would increasingly believe that they should hold their religion
as rigidly as possible.

The writer works at the Research Center for Society and
Culture at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. He is also a
member of Pemuda Muhammadiyah. He can be reached at
najib27@yahoo.com.